Both sides suffer amidst Middle East conflict
Israeli industry in the firing line; 2006 harvest at risk.
Read more...Israeli industry in the firing line; 2006 harvest at risk.
Read more...Chilean winery Via Santa Rita has acquired 1,600 hectares (ha) of vineyard land - both virgin and planted - in the areas of Pumanque and Limar.
This purchase has almost doubled the land ownership of Santa Rita, from 2,000 to 3,600ha, making it the second-largest land-owning winery in Chile after Concha y Toro.
Pumanque, around 30km west of Apalta, has no other vineyard plantings at present, and Santa Rita has already installed irrigation, including a reservoir and 10km of pipes. A wide spectrum of grapes will be planted shortly.
Limar, situated 400km north of Santiago, is also a relatively new area, with Via Tabali the most high-profile producer in the area at present. Santa Rita has acquired 470ha in this region, 65 of which are already planted with Chardonnay, Shiraz, Carmnre and Cabernet Sauvignon. The remaining land will be planted over the next five years primarily with Chardonnay and Shiraz.
The International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) announced its 2006 trophy winners last week (20 July), with a Canadian Shiraz - 2004 Jackson-Triggs Grand Reserve Shiraz - scooping the Rosemount Trophy for Shiraz/Syrah, and an English sparkling wine, 1998 Nyetimber Classic Cuvee, being hailed as the world's best sparkling wine' after winning the Yarden Trophy for Bottled Fermented Sparkling Wine.
By Ron Emler
Patrick Ricard, the chairman of Pernod Ricard, has made no secret of his desire to own a major brand of tequila, and reports from New York suggest he is close to fulfilling that ambition and plugging a significant hole in the portfolio of the world's second-largest wines and spirits company.
By Richard Woodard
Port shippers fear that there may be a shortage of younger Ports, after the region's production limit for the 2006 harvest was set below annual sales for the fifth year in a row.
Les Vins Georges Duboeuf has has decided not to appeal against the court ruling - which saw the Beaujolais producer fined 30,000 - handed down against the company earlier this month.
Read more...Jim Beam Global has announced that it has finalised the sale of all the Cockburn's Port production facilities and stocks to Symington Family Estates (see Harpers 9 June).
Read more...By Jack Hibberd
Bacardi Rum has launched a new brand positioning - swapping a Latin spirit for a free-spirit' - backed with a new global advertising campaign.
Blavod Extreme Spirits continues to make big sales gains.
Read more...A new marketing strategy aimed at explaining the Australian offer across all price points has been unveiled by the AWBC.
Read more...By Jack Hibberd and Dawn Cran
A number of Europe's largest wine-producing countries made pronouncements against the European Commission's draft proposals for the reform of the European wine sector last week, following a meeting of agriculture ministers in Brussels.
Rhodes Twenty Four is pioneering the use of a new type of breathable glassware from Germany.
Read more...Outspoken Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan is to open a restaurant on the site of the former Sugar Club in Warwick Street.
Read more...Hayman Barwell Jones Wines and Spirits has revamped its Terrain label and launched a new range of nine French Vin de Pays house wines for the UK on-trade.
Read more...Club M1NT will reopen in September in new Mayfair premises following the recent, controversial repossession of its old site in a Gordon Ramsay Holdings' building in Sloane Street, London.
Read more...Sherry is making a comeback! These are the words the Sherry Institute and the gang from Jerez have been trying to put on the UK street for the past decade, and still the fight goes on.
Read more...It's 10pm on a Friday night. The bar is packed and a client slurs three large vodkas' to the bartender. Serving the group will take them to dangerously high levels of alcohol, but saying no' will antagonise them, and in the mood they're in, God knows what they'll do. It's tempting to give the nearest a gentle shove and then watch them fall, domino-style, to the floor, a flaying mass of flesh and booze.
Read more...First Drinks Brands is bringing the number one off-trade brandy brand, Three Barrels, into its portfolio following the acquisition of Raynal & Cie by William Grant & Sons.
Read more...10 International - the recently launched wine agency formed by Bill Rolfe and Toby Hancock - has reached an agreement with Portuguese specialist D&F Wine Shippers to take over their off-trade sales and marketing activity in the UK.
The AWBC is to set up an online education programme on its website, aimed at both the trade and wine consumers.